It is widely known that the Indian Government owns the most Land in India(as per a 2017 Hindustan Times report; the government owns at least 13,505 square km as per the information provided by 41/51 Union Ministries and 22 of over 300 public sector enterprises).
But when it comes to non-government entities, we think of real estate moguls, industrialists with various factories established all over India but the surprising fact is it is none of these organizations which own the most land in India after our government, it is the Catholic Church of India. They are a conglomerate of various Christian trusts and charitable societies and to spread the message of Christianity; they have 16 bishops, 9322 Diocesan priests, 6765 religious priests, 2528 religious brothers, and a whopping 50112 religious sisters.
So what is the value of the and they approximately own? And how have they managed to amass a lot of land from a historical perspective? What are the various issues pertaining to it? We shall discuss these here.
Who Is the Largest Landowner in India? How Did They Manage to Amass These Lands? Issues Faced by the Catholic Church in India Regarding Ownership
Who Is the Largest Landowner in India?
The Catholic Church of India is the largest landowner of Non-agricultural land after the government of India. The church owns lots of properties throughout India. The total valuation of it is equivalent to India’s navy budget back then (roughly around 20,000 crore rupees). It is also one of the largest non-government employers in India.
This can be seen by the fact that the Catholic Church of India owns a lot of properties spread across various parts of the country, be it Goa on the western side of India, or, say, Kohima, in Northeast India. As per a 2012 The Telegraph-Calcutta report, they have around 2457 hospital dispensaries, 240 medical or nursing colleges, 28 general colleges, 5 engineering colleges, 3765 secondary schools, 7319 primary s, schools and 3187 nursery schools throughout India.
They have also made forays into agricultural land. For example, in 2009, they acquired a plantation worth 123 crore rupees in Kerala.
How Did They Manage to Amass These Lands?
This is mainly through the Indian Churches Act of 1927, established by the British dominion back then. The British dominion leased the lands they had captured due to their various wars at cheap rates to help them spread Christianity to the masses. Through this, they managed to acquire land throughout India and opened various institutions, be it religious institutions s mentioned above, to spread their message to the masses. The legality of the land is still debated.
One specific tactic that is noticed in the land owned by the Catholic Church of India, is while they do have land spread across various cities, they also tend to own religious institutions in small villages and soon these institutions themselves become an epicentre, a revolving point around which the whole village operates, either directly or indirectly through say the hospitality business, travels or so on.
A good example of this is the Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu, about 150 km from Tiruchirapalli and 310 km from Chennai. While the small village is just around 5.5 square km, the whole village is dependent on a large church built specifically for Mother Mary, who gave birth to Jesus.
This church has been one of the major reasons for the development of Velankanni as a whole, especially as a tourist destination. This theme can also be found in other parts of India, such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, etc.
Goa is a unique case altogether, considering it was a part of Portugal until 1961. The Portuguese gave them a lot of liberty to the Catholic Church as early as the 1500s, for example. One of the first Jesuit schools in India was established in 1542 at Goa by the name of St. Paul’s college. While it was stopped due to the 1578 plague, its ruins are still considered of paramount archaeological importance.
Issues Faced by the Catholic Church in India Regarding Ownership
One of the major issues about the ownership of the various land assets pertaining to the Catholic Church of India is its legality of it. While the Government of India did issue a circular in 1965 that the leases given by the British government won't be valid but at the same time, strict efforts have not been taken to enforce that one as of now.
This lack of transparency regarding the owners has also been a raging topic amongst the Catholic community itself. One of the leading Catholic politicians of Goa, Eduardo Faleiro, has talked extensively about bringing a separate law to govern Church properties and far more transparency in how the Church manages its assets.
He strongly emphasized that he believes that “The Church is not a symbol of power but service, and democratic laws must apply to it equally”.
This has also led to land scams occasionally, as shown in 2018, when the leading authorities of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, a particular sect within the Catholic Church of India-based in Kerala. They were accused of being involved in transactions that had black money.
Thus, this article gives a brief purview of how the Catholic Church of India has managed to be the largest landowner after the Indian Government, and the various historical factors associated with it. This article also tells us about the various issues regarding the legality and transparency of the land assets.
FAQs
Who is the largest landowner in India after the government?
the Catholic Church of India is the biggest landowner in India. It owns roughly around 20,000 crore to 50,000 crore rupees of land.
Who is the largest landowner in the world?
Roman Catholic Church is the largest landowner in the world, it owns around 70 million hectares of land.
The Catholic Church of India is the largest landowner of Non-agricultural land after the government of India. The church owns lots of properties throughout India. The total valuation of it is equivalent to India's navy budget back then (roughly around 20,000 crore rupees).
The Constitution of India originally provided the right to property is a legal right under government only (which includes land) under Articles 19 and 31. Article 19 guaranteed that all citizens have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property.
1. Queen Elizabeth II: 2.7 billion hectares. By far the world's largest non-governmental landowner, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the British Commonwealth and therefore legal owner of around 2.7 billion hectares of land, as estimated by The New Statesman. That's as much as a sixth of the planet's land surface.
The SC households own the lowest proportion of land and earn the lowest average income from agriculture. While STs and OBCs have larger land holdings on average, their income from cultivation remains much lower compared to the income of households of the Other category.
1. Antilia. Owned by Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance Industries, Antilia is not just India's costliest house but also tops the list of the world's costliest houses. Situated in one of the most expensive roads in Mumbai, the Altamount Road, Antilia is a 568-foot skyscraper featuring 27 floors.
Rules & restrictions when purchasing agricultural land
The maximum extent of agricultural land one can purchase is 59.95 acres. By the orders of the district collector, the land can be converted into non-agricultural land if no agricultural activity is carried out during the period of the last ten years.
However, what they are most famous for is being Mumbai's biggest private land owner with vast tracts of land in the north eastern suburb of Vikhroli. The Godrej group owns 3,400 acres of land in Mumbai, the country's most expensive property market.
L&DO is the largest landowner in the Capital after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Its 65,000 land parcels across Delhi have been allotted to different agencies or private citizens on leasehold.
Owner of land means the record owner of at least a majority ownership interest in a separate and legally created lot or parcel of land, as determined by the records of the county auditor, except that if the lot or parcel has been sold under a real estate contract, the vendee or grantee shall be deemed to be the owner ...
#2 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Land: Absolute royal control over the oil-rich 830,000 square miles of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a total GDP that was estimated at roughly $618 billion for last year.
The largest landowner in the world is not a major oil magnate or a real estate investor. No, it's the Roman Catholic Church. According to lovemoney.com, the church owns more than 70 million hectares.
Answer: There is no restriction under the income tax laws about how many houses one can own or how many houses one can take a home loan benefit for. Tax laws also allow a person to have a maximum of two houses as self-occupied.
The company is one of the leading and most popular real estate developers in Mumbai. At present, Wadhwa Group is leading developments in commercial, residential, and township projects that spans across nearly 4.21 million sq. meters.
The greatest ruler known to Indian history is Ashoka The Great. His empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who was a grandfather of Ashoka, more than 2300 years ago. Ashoka was greatly supported and lead by the famous man Chanakya, also known by Kautilya.
Brahmin. Brahmins are at the top of the four Hindu castes, consisting of clergy and intellectuals. Suppose we consider the Vedic documents. The Brahmins were advisors to the Maharajas, Mughals, and officials of the army.
Dalit (from Sanskrit: दलित, romanized: dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is a name for people belonging to the lowest stratum of the castes in India.
A hierarchical system wherein generally the Brahmins were at the head of the hierarchy, but this hierarchy was disputed in some cases. In various linguistic areas, hundreds of castes had a gradation generally acknowledged by everyone.
Antilia, owned by Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance Industries, is not only India's most expensive mansion, but also the most expensive residence in the world. Antilia is a 568-foot skyscraper with 27 stories, located on one of Mumbai's most expensive avenues, Altamount Road.
1. Antilia, Mumbai, India, owned by Mukesh Ambani. Like many billionaire families, Ambanis too wanted an opulently unique and customized residence. Thus began the conceptualization and construction of 'Antilia', designed by the firm Perkins and Will, named after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean.
At $224.5 billion, the Waltons are the richest family in the world thanks to their massive stake in Walmart, the world's largest company by revenue. The fourth generation of the Mars family, the second-richest clan after the Waltons, currently runs the eponymously named Mars candy company.
You cannot purchase land owned by the government in the country if it is designated for road construction in future. Nonetheless, you can approach the authority concerned by communicating your willingness to purchase land.
If you want to know which state has the lowest land rate, then let me tell you that states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have cheaper lands as compared to other states. Read this answer to know about the cost: What is the cost of one acre non agricultural land?
Not only that, it has also been listed among the most expensive residences in the whole world. The bungalow belongs to Indian billionaire industrialist Mr. Mukesh Ambani.
₹ 1,00,00,0001 acre agriculture land for sale at village TATA ROAD, Karjat. Karjat, Raigad DistrictToday. ₹ 9,99,99910 lac 1 acr land,best investment plot for selling,Pune pasun 60 km. Renuka Nagar, Pune3 days ago. ₹ 5,50,00,0001 Acres Industrial land available at Pathardi Industrial for 5.5 Cr.
With a combined fortune of Rs 2,36,300 crore, the Shiv Nadar family is the richest in Delhi. Hurun India has released its Wealth Report for the year 2021.
The Supreme Court has held that all temple property is owned by the deity as a legal person and the name of the pujari or managers cannot be put in the property ownership papers.
The largest landowners in the United States are the Emmerson Family, John Malone, the Reed Family, Ted Turner, and the Kroenke Ranch. The Emmerson Family is the largest landowner with 2.3 million acres of land across California, Washington state, and Oregon. Private land plays a significant role in conservation.
Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the largest house in the world, spread over 2.15 million square feet.
China owns and controls almost 192,000 acres of farmland right here in the United States. To be clear, it's not a huge percentage of our total farm acreage by any stretch.
The richest country in the world is Luxembourg. According to the IMF, the duchy's GDP per capita is $135,046. The total gross domestic product exceeded $86 billion. What country is the richest in the EU on the list?
The majority of all lands in Canada are held by governments as public land and are known as Crown lands. About 89% of Canada's land area (8,886,356 km²) is Crown land, which may either be federal (41%) or provincial (48%); the remaining 11% is privately owned.
Musk regained his position soon after. With a net worth of $185.4 billion, Musk is now again followed in the Forbes list by Arnault at $184.7 billion. Musk had overtaken Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in 2021 for the top spot.
a) If a person is an adult unmarried or a family consists of a sole surviving member, 5 standard acres subject to a maximum of seven-and-a-half acres. b) For a family of two or more family members but no more than five members, 10 standard acres and up to a maximum of 15 acres.
According to information provided to the Centre by 41 of the 51 Union ministries and 22 of over 300 public sector enterprises, the government owns at least 13,505 square km, with the number expected to rise as more data comes in.
Answer: There is no restriction under the income tax laws about how many houses one can own or how many houses one can take a home loan benefit for. Tax laws also allow a person to have a maximum of two houses as self-occupied.
It may sound bizarre, but you can actually own a dense forest, a lake such as Damdama or Dhauj, a hill top or a drain in the Aravalis of Haryana. NEW DELHI: It may sound bizarre, but you can actually own a dense forest, a lake such as Damdama or Dhauj, a hill top or a drain in the Aravalis of Haryana.
Kerala. Rightly known as 'God's Own Country', Kerala is among the most beautiful and green states in India. The backwater state is prized for some of the country's most pretty beaches, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
You would be surprised to know that the Indian subcontinent has been flourishing for around 5,000-6,000 years and its peoples joined together to form a civilization in roughly 1500 BCE when they created the Vedic Civilization, which laid out the foundations of Hinduism.
Address: 2033 Gerhold Pine, Port Jocelyn, VA 12101-5654
Phone: +8524399971620
Job: Central Manufacturing Supervisor
Hobby: Jogging, Metalworking, Tai chi, Shopping, Puzzles, Rock climbing, Crocheting
Introduction: My name is Edmund Hettinger DC, I am a adventurous, colorful, gifted, determined, precious, open, colorful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
StartupTalkyAnik Banerjee
